


A Hair-rowing Tale

by orphan_account



Category: Xiaolin Showdown (Cartoon)
Genre: M/M, Rapunzel AU, coarse language, death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2016-06-06
Packaged: 2018-07-12 14:10:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7108378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a Heylin aligned knight approaches the long awaited climax to his quest, things get a little hairy. (obligatory Rapunzel AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Hair-rowing Tale

**Author's Note:**

> Had to move this over from Tumblr, unfortunately. This story doesn't really follow the actual story but there's hair and a tower ok

Oh, what a magnificent sight he was; sleek ebony armour, forged with twisted intricacy; it was devilish and intimidating as he rode astride his steed. A great tower looming before him and a crimson cape whipping behind like a spray of blood.

The sky swirled with a suffocating darkness, dampening the moonlight overhead. Thick twisting brambles snaked across the ground around his beast’s hooves; strangling the life from all flora and fauna they laid their thorny, tendrils upon. A disturbing display of bones was strewn across the ground; some piled in a way as if the poor souls who once inhabited them were clutching at the tower itself.

“Whoa, girl,” the knight pulled back on the reins of the beast beneath him as they reached the base of the tower. Thick plumes of steam released from the beast’s joints as she reeled back; braying and thrashing her shiny, metal head.

For you see, this was no average horse.

A mechanical marvel of a mare, this beast was lovingly hand-crafted from the ground up. Blood, sweat, and tears dripped from every seam like oil; she could have only been the work of a true genius, a man with nimble fingers and an even nimbler mind.

The knight gently rubbed a gloved hand across the beast’s metallic neck, calming her down with just a simple touch. His tender cooing was muffled by the knightly helmet he wore; the contrast of wicked spires adorning the headgear and the gentle demeanour he had adopted could have been quite startling if there were anyone around to witness it.

As his beast calmed, the knight turned his attention towards the striking building before him. He craned his neck upwards towards a window set at the very top.

That’s where she would be.

Any knight worth his weight knew of the legend; a beautiful maiden— a demon— locked away in a tower for crimes unheard of. An eternal beauty; wicked and cruel. If all went right, he would woo this gorgeous maiden and they would succeed in world domination, hand in hand; but if all went wrong… well, he would rather not think of the consequences.

The knight lifted off his helmet, revealing ivory flesh and scarlet hair. He lifted his ruby eyes upward once again, and with a crooked grin he called, “Beautiful maiden, I’ve come to release you from your curse!”

After an agonized moment of silence, there was… no response.

Jack furrowed his brow and pursed out his bottom lip; maybe he wasn’t loud enough.

The knight cleared his throat before calling out again, even louder this time, his voice causing several brambles to shiver in annoyance around him, “Uh, hello? I’ve come to release you!”

Jack bit at his lip as the silence continued. He was positive he got the right place. It’s not like there were an abundance of cursed towers littering the land.

The knight took in a very deep breath before shouting as loud as he could, “HELLOOOOO—”

“GO AWAY.”

Jack reeled back at the voice that answered him. It was harsh and venomous and… definitely not the damsel he was expecting.

He sat upon his horse for a moment in confusion, his helmet held between his chest and the nook of his elbow. Scratching at his fiery hair, he took another crack at calling upward, “Uh, I was wondering if you could help me,” his voice was meek, though just as loud. At this point many of the brambles were slinking away from the knight and his beast, disturbed by the continual racket.

Jack added a hasty “sir?” to his sentence, hoping it would help him get into good favour with whomever this man was.

After a long moment of silence, the knight was no closer to giving up. He was stubborn— at best. He had braved a long journey and many dangers to get to this point, and he was not about to leave so easily. Who did this guy think he was?

Just as Jack was about to try again, a broad, shadowy figure appeared in the window; tall and menacing.

“Did I not tell you to leave?” the figure asked. His voice contained a layer of annoyance, though it remained level, and loud enough for Jack to hear.

The knight grinned up at him meekly, “I’m looking for a… damsel in distress?” he called back, the figure looming above him struck fear into his core, but he wasn’t about to hightail it out of there. Not yet, anyway.

The figure’s shoulders visibly slumped as if releasing a heavy sigh. He leaned forward out of the window revealing his face to the knight below him.

Jack let out a small gasp. The man was striking, in his own right. A cascade of black hair fell over his shoulder, and golden eyes glinted in the pale moonlight, even visible to Jack at such a far distance.

The knight’s cheeks heated slightly as the man above him scowled, “There is no ‘damsel,’” he spat, “many moons have only brought forth more and more ridiculous rumours; each one created to torture me further, it seems,” the man looked off into the horizon line, seemingly lost in thought, before snapping his eyes towards Jack, “I suppose you’re here to be another nuisance to me,”

Jack stiffened at the tone of the man above, his eyes wide, “N— no, sir!” before giving the man a quizzical look, “so, you’re the damsel the legend speaks of? You’re not exactly what I expected…” he confessed.

“And neither are you,” the man answered, “I thought knights were meant to be brave, calloused, and strong; true warriors fit for battle,” the man eyed Jack up, “and you are… none of these things,” he finished. There was almost laughter to his voice.

Jack became indignant. He straightened upon his steed, furrowing his brow with insult, “Well, excuse me,” he yelled back, “it’s not like I just spent weeks trying to get here, almost getting killed God knows how many times. And for what,” he flourished his hand for emphasis, “some rude asshole? I mean, at least if you were a hot chick, I’d still have a reason to—”

A bright flash of lightning cut him off, a wave of thunder rolled across the night, making Jack shrink away, quivering in fear. Brambles began to inch ever closer to iron hooves, making his steed shift restlessly.

“As I said before, worm,” the man seethed, “leave my presence and never return,”

Jack rung his hands together, sweat beading at his temples, “Ehehe, hey that almost sort of rhymed,” Jack gulped at the scathing look he received, “but I can’t just leave! If you’re the dams— uh, man from the legend, then I can still break the curse, there must be some truth to the rumours,” the knight let out a meek chuckle, “right?”

The man pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a long sigh, “If you are the chosen one, yes,” cocking an eyebrow, “though I doubt it…” he mumbled to himself, inaudible to the knight below.

Jack reeled his confidence back in, puffing out his chest and smirking at the man in the window, “Then my reason still stands,” he called, “I’m here to release you, uh,” Jack placed a finger onto his chin, “I don’t think I got your name,”

“Chase,”

“Chase!” Jack exclaimed pompously.

Chase shook his head in annoyance, “In God’s name, why me— ?” he mumbled.

“So, like, this is where I ask you to let down your hair, right?” Jack queried.

The man in the window ground his teeth together. It was true, for all he knew this knight could be the one to break his curse, and turning him away now could cost him 1500 more years in his tower prison; rotting away, tired, bored, and lonely.

“Fine,” Chase growled down at Jack as the knight let out a whoop of celebration, immediately quieting the fool down, “though I must warn you, if you are not the chosen one, things will not turn out so pleasant for you,” normally Chase didn’t warn his prey of the imminent danger, but there was a part of him hoping the idiotic knight before him would flee in terror; chosen one or not. He was tired of these games the men and women who sought him out liked to play; even the promise of a snack wasn’t enough to lift his apathy.

“Ehh, what do you mean by that exactly?” Jack steepled his hands together, giving the man a side-eyed squint.

Chase casually glanced down towards the foot of the tower, to where the piles of bleached human bones lay. Perfectly picked clean, there had to be hundreds, no, thousands of them.

Jack gulped hard, “Oh,”

“You can still flee, you know,” Chase grinned, “I can’t do anything to stop you now, but once you are in the tower it’s an entirely different story,”

The knight hesitated for a moment, rubbing the reins of his steed between his gloved fingers. How confident was he really? Normally his cowardice would have dominated by now, kicking his flight instinct into overdrive. Just then, however, there was just something, something that pulled him toward the tower; something inviting, yet cold, that filled his lungs and squeezed at his heart.

“No,” Jack spoke, almost too low for Chase to hear, “I won’t run,”

The man in the window paused for a moment, gazing back down into blood-coloured eyes. He smirked before coiling up his long midnight tresses and dropping them out of the window.

“Holy fuck that’s a lot of hair,” Jack gaped in awe, causing Chase to let out a subdued chuckle.

The knight began to clumsily dismount his mechanical mare, catching his foot on the stirrup, he tripped over himself, face planting into the cold, hard ground beneath him. He thanked the Gods there weren’t any bones or thorns where he now lay.

Chase’s chuckling became full blown laughter. He couldn’t contain himself. He loved to watch people fail, and watching this idiotic lunatic eat shit must have been the highlight of this century.

Jack’s face burned crimson as he rubbed his nose, the cackling of the man above gnawed away at his ego, though not enough to change his mind.

“Oh, brave knight,” Chase cooed, adopting a mockingly sweet tone, “I’m so glad you’re here to rescue me,”

Jack grumbled to himself as he stood, his face getting even hotter, “You keep that up and you won’t get any of this,” the knight stated haughtily, breezing his hands past his torso.

Chase leaned onto the lip of the window, his chin resting on his propped up hand, “Spare me,” the man remarked, rolling his eyes.

Jack stepped carefully towards the tower, bones crunching beneath his boots. He reached out towards the absurd length of hair that dangled from the window above and gingerly stroked it. He hummed to himself, and then removed one of his gloves, burying his hand into the hair once again.

Jack’s eyes lit up. It was so soft. Silky and smooth, it made his fingers tingle. He stepped closer to bring a bunch of hair to his face. He rubbed a pale cheek against it, the softness was almost enough to make the knight purr as he closed his eyes in bliss.

“Although I have nothing better to do, I would rather not waste all my time on you,” the rumbling voice of the man above made Jack jump, he released the locks of hair from his grasp and hastily replaced his glove.

Hesitantly, Jack grabbed another fistful of hair, this time with the intent to begin his climb, “So, do I just— ?”

“You won’t hurt me,” Chase called, looking bored as all hell, “my hair has been enchanted,”

“This curse is honestly kind of weird. Why would they bother giving you a chance of escaping to begin with?” Jack mused, furrowing his brow.

Chase scoffed, “It’s like a game. Sadistic bastards love this sort of thing. Torture tainted by hope is always more fun,” a small smirk tugged at the man’s lips, as if he were speaking from experience.

Jack shrugged before pulling himself upward, taking the first step towards his very possible and probable death. He leaned backwards as he firmly planted both feet onto the side of the tower. The rough cobblestone was easy enough to grip, and created an abundance of perfect footholds. The sleek hair, however, was a little trickier to get a grasp of.

As the knight made his climb, Chase took a keen interest in his own fingernails. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t excited for his next meal. This knight was foolish and annoying, and he’d enjoy ripping him to shreds.

A light yank of his hair, and a sudden yelp jerked the man from his fantasies. He snapped his eyes back towards the knight who had slid back towards the bottom several feet. A look of fear was splayed across his face. Jack mumbled curses to himself as he shook.

“Don’t fall, you imbecile,” Chase called, “it would be such a waste,” what a tease it would be, getting excited over a meal only to have it plummet to its death, completely in view, but entirely out of reach. A whole knew form of torture.

“I got it!” Jack called back, though Chase could sense the distinct lack of confidence entering his voice.

After several moments of struggling and cursing, Jack finally made it to the lip of the window. Once in reach, Chase greedily grabbed onto the knight’s shoulders, yanking him into the tower and chucking him onto the floor.

“Oww—” Jack whined, rubbing his head as he scowled at Chase’s back. The man was quickly pulling his hair back through the window. Once it was piled back into the room, the sheer amount of it was that much more obvious.

It was so soft and shimmery looking. Jack had to fight the great urge to wriggle into it and take a nap.

“Stand up,” the man ordered before Jack even had the time to glance around the room.

The knight followed the order. He, very ungracefully, stood, dusting off dirt and debris from his onyx armour, “Ok, so what exactly do I— ?”

Jack was cut off mid sentence as a pair of lips were crushed against his own. His face was held between two very large hands and his body was pressed against another, contact was, unfortunately, impaired by his armour plating.

The knight stood frozen for a moment before returning the kiss with fervour. He placed his gloved hands on the man’s hips and pulled him even closer.

Chase was a lot taller than he had expected, and a lot firmer, and a lot hotter… Jack’s head swam with a blur of emotions. Confusion, lust, fear, it was enough to make his blood pressure spike to absurd levels.

Jack felt a very inhuman tongue flick against his lips. He parted them in invitation, though he had the distinct feeling the flick was an order and not a question. The knight slid his hands upward to bury them deep into the other man’s hair; it would be a shame not to take advantage of the situation.

Both men enjoyed each other for a long while before Chase finally parted from him. His face was flushed and his breath was heavy.

Jack gave Chase a dopey grin, his eyelids drooped as he panted, “Wow,” he breathed.

However, just as quickly as it came, the moment quickly drained away from his face as a cold chill gripped at his innards.

Nothing happened.

Jack stood, dumbfounded. Before he started to quiver. He wasn’t exactly sure what happened once a curse was lifted, but he was pretty damn sure at least something was supposed to happen. A flash of light, a sound, an overwhelming feeling? 

But there was… nothing.

Chase noticed how close to passing out the knight was, and grinned at his sheer terror, “Are you ready to release my curse, my knight?” he asked with a tone of mockery.

Jack visibly stuttered, a look of utter confusion crossing over his face, “But I… failed,” the knight responded.

Chase cocked an eyebrow, furrowing his brow before he gave Jack a look of understanding, “Oh, you thought the kiss was the test?” Chase gave Jack a sharp grin, “that was just for fun.”

Jack gaped at the man before him, “Fun?” he squeaked.

“It gets so boring in this hole of a room,” Chase waved a hand dismissively as he made his way to the back of said hole as his hair snaked behind him like a serpent, to where a wooden door stood, “I need to have some fun every now and again,” the man motioned for Jack to follow, “some even got lucky before I devoured them alive. Pun not intended,”

Jack’s ears reddened as he hesitantly walked over to the door, rubbing his hands with anxiety.

Chase gave him a sidelong glance before continuing his instruction, “Open the door,” he ordered.

The knight pursed out his bottom lip, “Th— that’s it?” he stuttered.

“Correct. If you can open the door, then you will break my curse,” the man tilted his head to the side, “and if not, well, things will not go so well for you. I win either way, really.”

Yes, Chase would either be rewarded with his freedom, or a delicious snack. The knight before him seemed not to have the physique of a brawny warrior. No, surely he was soft, hopefully not stringy, perhaps a bit fatty… Chase flicked his forked tongue across his lips, savouring the appetizer he had tasted just moments before.

Jack ground his teeth together as he clenched his fists at his sides.

This was it.

This one turn of a door handle would decide his fate. Live or die. Get with a hot, demon stud or be eaten alive. The piles of bones strewn about the tower yard did not bode well at all, but there was no turning back now. He couldn’t chicken out, Chase wouldn’t let him. Rip off the band-aid, get it done, now or never, this was it, this was it, this was—

CLICK

Jack’s throat closed in on itself as he slowly pushed the door open. He could sense the man beside him stiffen as the tension in the air grew thick and palpable.

“Oh my god,” Jack choked on his own words as his entire body vibrated. His vision went black for a moment but he fought hard to stay aware; this was not the time to be passing out.

The door was open.

He had released the handle as his fingers began to tingle, but the door continued to slowly open further as if guided by a stream of magic.

Jack stiffened as the man beside him let out a low rumble from his chest; a low rumble that almost sounded like… purring?

“Oh my god,” Jack couldn’t compose himself enough to form proper sentences as he tore his eyes from the door and shifted them over to Chase.

The look the man had splayed across his face was almost comical. Pure shock and awe, with just a pinch of utter joy; the look really did not suit the man at all, Jack decided, though he was happy this meant his life would be spared. Or at least, he hoped. You could never be too sure when it came to demons.

Chase brought a hand up to scrub at his face, covering his golden eyes for a moment before bringing his hand away, as if the open door was a hallucination or illusion.

1500 years.

1500 years, trapped in the same god forsaken tower. Years of travelers, warriors, mages… toyed with, killed, devoured… 

Every heavy feeling the man had felt was lifted away in an instant. An instant so brief, it happened in the same moment he had time to blink.

The man shook his head in disbelief. He looked down at Jack, who’s eyes were wide, his mouth a thin, pale line.

This man was his saviour; his knight.

“Soooo,” Jack began, rubbing the back of his neck, “you wanna grab a coffee or something?”


End file.
